EQO Community - iphone

EQO Adds Support for Lots of New Phones--Nokia E71 included

peter — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:27:37 -0700

It appears to me that phone manufacturers are releasing new mobile phone models at a quickening pace. It used to be that you could have a phone for over a year without it looking dated. However, in the iPhone Era, if you bought a phone 6 months ago, you are already two years behind the times (even if the phone you bought was an iPhone). The Age of the Disposible Mobile Phone is seemingly incongruous in the increasingly environmentalist milieu of western society. However, I am certain that when someone finds a way to make money by selling a "Green" phone all of the other phone makers will jump on board. For now, though, we will have to content ourselves with the cycle of "man, I need a new phone" to "just bought a new phone joy" to "look at that guy's newer phone envy" to "damn, why am I stuck with this Zack Morris phone" and back to "man, I need a new phone".

One just-released phone that I am looking forward to trying out is the Nokia E71. Personally I am a big fan of phones that feature WiFi, GPS, full qwerty keypads, and sleek Scandinavian styling--what is not to love? Another great reason to love this phone is that it is now supported by EQO.

You may or may not have noticed, but we have added a whole host of new phones to our supported list of the Nokia, Sony Ericcson and Samsung varietals.

Peter

The Future of Mobile

chris — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:04:43 -0800

Here at EQO we have a giant mobile phone library consisting of just about every type of phone imaginable. Us lucky employees get to try everything and take our pick. My mainstay to date has been the Nokia E61i, a Symbian, wifi enabled, full keyboard super phone that's as functional as it isn't sexy. Lately, I've been carrying the iPhone in my leisure time while still using the E61i at work (EQO doesn't run on the iPhone, yet). I must confess that I now love the iPhone and loathe switching back to the E61i every day. While the iPhone isn't technically more advanced than my E61i, it is supremely better to use. This giant leap in mobile experience got me thinking about the future of mobile in general. Now that calling/texting, mp3 players, cameras, push email and so much more is ubiquitous, what's next?

1. Web on mobile, not mobile web. Thanks to iPhone, I can now use the web, the real web, on my phone. The real web differs from the mobile web (scaled down versions and bad interfaces) in that it doesn't suck. In the future, all phones will be like iPhone in that the web experience will not suck. The proof is in the hits, Google is finding out.

2. GPS will bring us killer location based services. Google Maps Mobile can now tell me roughly where I am and tell me about nearby businesses of the kind I am looking. Soon enough, I'm expecting my phone to tell me stuff without my asking it:
Phone: Hey Chris!
Chris: Yeah, Phone?
Phone: There's a bar 30m ahead then 20m right that your brother-in-law Erik loves. Try the Scottish Ale.
Chris: Thanks phone, I'll check it out.

3. Real Applications. The mobile app market is growing and improving, but is only exploited by the brave few technical souls willing to suffer with installation and connection problems (generally caused by the near sightedness of mobile operators in general). With the advent of open platforms (Android) and the web on mobile (not the mobile web!), developers will be able to easily build and distribute applications to wireless devices. I'm expecting to be able to do all that I do on my PC, much of which is increasingly web based, on my phone, just as easily.

4. Real Usability. The traditional phone interface at its basest level presents a list of contacts with some options. Generally, this is where people spend 90% of their time even though their phones can surf the (mobile) web, play music, take pictures, and then some. The iPhone was a great leap in usability. It's the most discoverable phone I've ever used. Technopeasants can easily figure it out. I believe the iPhone affect on mobile usability perception will enable the majority to take advantage of what phones can technically already do, beyond calling and texting.

5. Media Factories. We are seeing this now. The most potent of phones are media factories, but again only for the technocracy. Currently, it is too challenging and/or costly for most people to shoot video and beam pictures around. This will change. Facebook mobile image uploads are just the beginning. Lifecasting, live reporting, photo diaries, and the like will become easier to produce and distribute.

6. Modu. While I hate pre announcement hype videos that don't tell you what the product is going to be, I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find out about Modu. Modu is essentially a next generation SIM card, a SIM card that makes calls. As a SIM card is to a phone, Modu is to all other electronic devices. I'm eager to see what they have in store for their modular gem.

7. Real VoIP. There are many mobile voip services out there, including a bright shiny orange one from EQO. None are truly the equivalent of Skype on a PC. Services using wifi aren't truly mobile, not until wifi covers the world and handoff is perfected. Services using 3G connections still require a contract with a mobile operator. All other VoIP services provide a cost benefit via other mechanisms. Existing mobile voip services are great, but they are only steps towards pure voip.

iPhone is the best mobile I've used to date that makes powerful mobile services usable. I'm not just saying that as an Apple fanboy, I really believe its the best phone ever. I can't wait to see how the rest of the industry will respond to its brilliance. One thing is for certain, things are looking up for the consumer.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

Mobile Web Platforms - Ready to Rumble in 2008

jeff — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:22:50 -0800

Paul Kedrosky on the under-appreciation of mobile web platforms:

People just don't get how good web apps on mobile can be. I get stuck in many conversations about native apps on mobile, which always strikes me as vestigial. The same way that I live in mostly browser-based apps on my desktop and laptop, I am convinced I will live in web apps on my mobile device. Pretending otherwise seems wrong-headed and self-defeating.

At MobileCamp Vancouver I pushed just this point on the industry panel. I'm not sure the other telco folks on the panel were convinced. But - what I found after the panel among the broader development community there, was intense interest in targeting mobiles through web-based runtimes - be they web sites, widgets, Adobe AIR, Google gears, etc.

There are really two issues to consider here.

Are web runtimes capable of delivering the necessary functionality and experience equal to native runtimes? The answer is yes although not everybody gets this yet. See my post on Adobe AIR / Google gears like platform for iPhone for an argument in favor of mobile runtimes over native runtimes.
Recognition of another under-appreciated benefit of mobile web runtimes - they drastically expand the world of people that can develop mobile applications. In this sense web runtimes are poised to play a role similar to that played by Visual Basic for desktop apps in the 90's. To be clear - I am not comparing the two in technical terms, but in terms of "developer reach". Undeniably (and to many developers' deep regret) VB drove a huge developer population.

There's something in the AIR at Macworld - and I think I know what...

jeff — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:41:35 -0800

Earlier today AppleInsider posted photos of the banners hanging at San Francisco's Moscone Center in preparation for the Macworld Expo.

They feature a teasing phrase - "2008. There's something in the air."

Today Bob Cringely also posted an article on why Apple will buy Adobe.

There's something in the air.

Adobe AIR.

Will Apple announce an acquisition of Adobe? I don't know, but I'm betting that Steve Jobs will at a minimum announce the delivery of Adobe AIR support in not only the next iPhone firmware, but in the next Apple TV. I wrote about the argument for delivering Adobe AIR or an AIR-like platform on the iPhone back in October. It made sense then and it makes sense now.

Back to the potential acquisition - who doesn't love Cringely? He's always entertaining and thought provoking, but not right all that often (which is understandable because he dares to predict big and bold). But the idea of this acquisition makes a lot of sense on many levels.

Not to mention - can you imagine Steve Jobs' glee at sitting atop a triumvirate of Apple, Adobe, and Disney? That's a powerful combination.

The iPhone SDK announcement - The big takeaways from today's news

jeff — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:21:14 -0700

Like this post? Jeff is now blogging at BillionsConnected.com/blog.

The big takeaways from today's announcement of iPhone native SDK availability in February:

1. Partly this is a preemptive strike for the holiday season - remove a reason for some people not to buy, and take away the only real "down" side to the iPhone story in consumers minds post-launch. Instead turn it into another focus of desire for consumers - let the lust begin for the native apps just around the corner.

2. Give app developers the confidence to begin writing apps now on hacked iPhones, knowing that with a bit of tweaking they will be deployable on non-hacked devices when the SDK arrives.

3. Predictably, application signing will be part of the equation. Much depends on the signing model. The big questions - will compliance testing be required to get signed? what capabilities will be restricted?

4. The SDK release coincides roughly with the reported release date of the first GPS-enabled iPhones. Prediction: Apple is going to make 2008 the year location-based services go mainstream.

The actual announcement:

Third Party Applications on the iPhone

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch. [Oct 17, 2007]

EQO on the iPhone?

peter — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:48:59 -0700

Everyday I get email from people asking me when EQO is going to work on the iPhone. And, although we don’t have a version of EQO that is iPhone compatible yet, we are not standing idly by. We now have three iPhones here at EQO HQ; One successfully unlocked (props to Mike, EQO’s resident Web Wizard, for doing this a few weeks ago), one unmodified (essentially useless here in Canada), and one bricked (essentially useless everywhere).

Speaking of bricked iPhones (maybe we can get in on the antitrust lawsuit against Apple...), I believe that Apple made a huge mistake by locking down their phone in the first place. If they didn’t have a ridiculously exclusive deal with AT&T, their biggest problem would be figuring out how to manufacture enough phones to meet world demand. Total domination of the wireless market would ensue, followed by the unleashing of Apple’s own wireless network, and then the eventual take over the FCC, the BBC, the WWF, the WWE, and the UN—with Steve Jobs being anointed Secretary General of the known Universe.

Sorry, I got a little carried away. Where was I? Oh yeah, we are not standing idly by...we are thinking about how to implement EQO on the iPhone and I, myself, am confident that we will come up with a pretty good solution for the world's hottest new phone. Watch this space.

Peter
EQO Customer Support

Where is the iPhone's answer to Adobe AIR, or Google Gears?

jeff — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:45:38 -0700

Adobe's AIR platform has shown that the web development model is fundamentally capable of delivering applications every bit as rich as native platform apps. Hence the outcry over the idea of web applications as the primary development model for the iPhone is overblown. Yes, the current iPhone development environment sucks but it's important to keep in mind that we haven't seen the true power of this model.

So what will Apple do if they are serious about the web development platform?

First up, a JavaScript bridge into native device capabilities on the iPhone. Right now in terms of access to device functions via web technologies, the iPhone offers nothing beyond the microbrowsers on feature phones. Yes, the AJAX support enables a quantum leap in usability, but we need more.

Top of the list - "the basics"

file access
camera access
location
address book
calendar

But beyond these now familiar mobile device capabilities, there is an opportunity for Apple to provide powerful APIs that would provide an unparalleled mobile development environment, web or otherwise:

SQLite local store
Access to iTunes account-based charging
Event subscriptions with persistent ECMAScript object handlers

timers

calendar events

location

support for installable URI handlers

Key to app usability is that these capabilities should be provided through a user consent system which does not take away the user's choice to make use of device features with a given application, a la the restrictions in many J2ME runtimes:

On first load, present the list of "privacy affecting" services being requested by the application - and listen to what the user wants! Empower the user already - they bought the damn thing.

When can we expect such features? Who knows, but I would be very surprised if the first GPS-enabled iPhones, expected in Q1 2008, ship without at minimum a JavaScript bridge to location data following soon after.

Gut check: For anyone with development experience on J2ME, can you imagine going back to the underachiever that is the J2ME RMS storage API after being provided with a local SQL store?

The native app vs. web app argument is stale!

Jeff
Chief Software Architect, EQO

Steve Jobs to Operators: Bend Over

jeff — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:07:38 -0700

Jobs is known for being cheeky - but check this out, then imagine the cursing going on in the boardrooms of Apple's operator partners after today's launch of the iPod Touch:

Jobs: “Wi-Fi, as you know, is not only faster than 2.5G, but it’s faster than any 3G network”.
Song playing on the iPod Touch: "Cellphone's Dead - Beck"
On the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store: "We're gonna do something else, too: we're gonna bring it to the iPhone"

What Apple has done is make the carrier networks look old and stale. They are saying, remember the iPhone? Of all the things you loved about it, none of them were enabled by your operator. Just the contract. Here's one without the contract.

And reading between the lines: Oh, but you want voice? Stay tuned.

Cellphone's dead indeed.

Blast from the recent past: "When asked about a give-and-take leading to the Apple-Cingular partnership, [Cingular CEO] Lurie said, "I'm not sure we gave anything." Later, he commented, "I think they bent a lot."

Jeff

EQO Poll #1: iPhone Unlock

chris — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:00:38 -0700

Here it is, the first edition of EQO Polls. I was going to make the question "What EQO Community guy do you like the most? Chris or Peter", but I didn't want to publicly embarrass Peter that badly.

Instead, I look to the iPhone. We at EQO have been following the iPhone unlock saga with much interest for we are in Canada and sadly still cannot use our iPhone as a phone. Do we risk destroying our precious gem with misappropriated solder? Do we wait for the software to be released? Do we acquire a pricey TurboSIM? Please let us know.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

iPhone, Gphone, A-B-C-D-E-phone!

jeff — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:50:49 -0700

Domainers have snapped up aphone, bphone, etc... for every letter in the alphabet.

Gphone, FCC approval, worldwide launch - WTF?

jeff — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:30:48 -0700

Rumors and innuendo - it all was all so much fun the first time with the iPhone, who isn't looking forward to doing it all over again with the gPhone?

Rediff reports that

"Google, the nearly $13.5 billion search engine major, is believed to be a fortnight away from the worldwide launch of its much-awaited Google Phone [...] Sources close to the development said a simultaneous launch across the US and Europe is expected, and announcements would be sent to media firms in India and other parts of the world. US regulatory approval, which is expected soon, is the only hurdle that Google is waiting to cross."

Two weeks to complete FCC certification and do a multi-operator worldwide launch would be a daunting task. Could Google out-secret Apple in a worldwide launch more complex than the single operator launch of the iPhone?

The is only one likely scenario in which a launch in 2 weeks makes sense - if the "gPhone" will launch as a device taken through FCC certification by some other manufacturer, with Google providing the software on the handset.

Anybody out there up for trolling through FCC filing database for enigmas in the past two or three months?

Jeff

Giant iPhone Bills = too funny

chris — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:02:03 -0700

Today in my brief morning jaunt through the blogosphere I came across this delightful video showing the opening of a giant 300 page iPhone bill. I find it absolutely hilarious that the new AT&T would spend the money on extra postage for an oversize letter, blatantly waste precious natural resources, and even bother to send a bill that big (because who really is going to read it all?). What was even in the bill? Every text message, call, and web page visited most likely. How long until e-bills are mandatory? For the environments sake, I hope soon.

More importantly, the lovely lady in the video, Justine Ezarik is my new favorite person on the internet. My next project will be to set up a web cult to worship she who is clearly queen of the geeks, nay, of the internet in its entirety (excluding the porn parts).

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

10 reasons to ditch your phone? I think not

chris — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:09:50 -0700

Yesterday I came across this Wired article "10 Reasons To Throw Away Your Cellphone", the contents of which I wholeheartedly do not agree with. Therefore, I shall refute each claim and defeat the evil cellphone haters.

1. It makes your life more complicated: Wrong, my cellphone makes my life easier. It makes my wife less angry with me, it helps me when I am lost, it amuses me when I am in a line, it helps me realize what meetings I am missing, it lets me check my email without starting my stupid laptop, and, above all, it lets me call people wherever I am. My cellphone makes life more complicated than sitting alone in the woods, yes, but easier on the whole.

2. It's horribly expensive: Maybe. Thankfully my Nokia E61i super phone is a loaner from Nokia and my bill is EQO subsidized. For me it is cheap, and that's what's really important. For the rest of the world, cost versus benefit, people are shelling out aren't they?

3. It enslaves you to a one sided contract: Agreed, the carriers are screwing us because they can, but without them our phones would just be walkie talkies. Googletel, please save us.

4. It makes you perpetually available: Turn it off. Set it to silent and ignore it.

5. It is boring: Clearly this man has not played S-Tris 2 for S60 3rd edition or taken naughty pictures and immediately Shozu'd them to unsuspecting victims. And how could he cite the iPhone as boring!?! The iPhone is the most fantastically amusing device I have ever come across.

6. It must constantly be recharged: True, but so must all of us. This is really not that bad, I spend more than half my life sitting at my desk or driving, both convenient charging locations. I have never run out of battery, plus batteries these days usually get at least a few days.

7. It knows where you are: If you are like me, and you are, nobody cares where you are. More important is that you know where you are, which is really the true value of GPS on a phone.

8. It encourages stupid people to become a public menace: That I will agree with, cellphone use while driving is bad. Thankfully I have been blessed with the prodigious skills required to call my wife every night on the way home from work. Come on, everybody does it.

9. Ubiquitous pleather accessory shops: I agree, I hate cellphone accessories, mostly because I work in Richmond, BC, land of Hello Kitty cell straps. I am defeated on point nine, but I must go on...

10. It turns you into a public annoyance: Whatever, everybody can remember a hilarious incident involving a poorly timed incoming call! There is truth to this point, but with great power comes great responsibility. We can all do our part; I throw popcorn at, or kick if they are close enough, anybody who even opens their phone in a movie theater.

I believe I have proven by the theory of mathematical induction that cellphones are indeed quite beneficial. Even though I failed to strike down each and every point, I still give myself 7/10.

Q.E.D.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

iPhone crosses border, delights EQO

chris — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:17:04 -0700

EQO acquired its very first iPhone today. If you are wondering why we are so late to the party, consider that the iPhone is not yet available in Canada. We had to import one and we can't make phone calls with it unless we pay ridiculous roaming charges to the new AT&T or someone figures out how to unlock it. As for my impressions of it, I think the iPhone is wicked awesome. My current phone is a Nokia E61i, which does many cool things that the iPhone can't do. However, the Nokia E61i does not do anything the iPhone can do nearly as well as the iPhone does it.

When it first reached my hands, the iPhone was all smudgy and I did not like that at all. Being obsessive compulsive when it comes to cleanliness, I quickly wiped away the grimy paw prints of my coworkers. Having immaculately clean hands, I had no more smudge problems from then on, whilst embarking on a journey of pure bliss.

I first setup the wifi connection and got web browsing. Turns out the iPhone browser is the greatest mobile browser of all time. I love the pinchy zoomy thing, that goes for pictures too. I took a bunch of pictures in the office and went flipping through them at breakneck speed, zooming in and out, good times. I wrote some notes and added myself as a contact. I liked the keyboard, but I can see how fatter fingers might not fair so well. I did have to pay close attention while typing and I think that might curb by text-while-driving bad habits, which is probably a good thing. I was also mesmerized by the birthday/time setting wheel, so cool. Needless to say, I am impressed. I have had my hands on pretty much every phone out there and the iPhone takes the cake.

The haters out there just don't get it. The mass market doesn't care about mms, copy/paste, gps, high mega-pixel video recording cameras, 3G, poor battery replacement, document reading and all that. Heck, if people really cared about third party apps, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Cingular wouldn't be getting away with all of their restrictions. The average person makes calls, sends texts, checks email, listens to music and wants to use the web but hasn't had much luck yet. The iPhone does all of this beyond well, with added wow factor. It's all about interface and ease of use. I love Symbian, but the iPhone sets the benchmark over the Nokia N95 as the ultimate phone.

Would I buy one? Not yet, I will buy the next one when more of the problems are fixed and it costs $300-$400 with $50-$60 a month plans. Until then, I'm going to see if I can claim this one as mine...

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

Facebook Mobile, meh....

chris — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:46:38 -0700

A while back I wrote about how Facebook had permeated the very fabric of my being, and that was before Facebook Platform came out. Facebook is now like my third leg, at least I play with it just as much. Literally everyone I know is now on Facebook, including my bosses and other old people. Looking into this phenomenon, I have discovered that Facebook is now the number one most visited site in Canada (13th in the world) and the Vancouver, BC network is the third largest Facebook network behind only Toronto (Canada) and London (UK)! This does not surprise me because Facebook is ridiculously awesome.

Highest praise though it deserves, I have two counterintuitive beefs with my beloved Facebook. Firstly, despite the openness and innovation Facebook Platform brings, the flood of Facebook apps is starting to bother me. No I do not want to share a virtual cocktail with you, that is dumb. The frequency of these idiotic requests is turning me off slightly, only slightly. What angers me the most is Facebook Mobile. I work for a mobile company, I should love it, but I do not. The text alerts are just annoying (even more annoying to reply to) and m.facebook.com just cheapens the experience. Facebook deserves a full browser, maybe like an iPhone browser? No Symbian fans, the Nokia E61i browser does not cut it. Apparently we at EQO are getting an iPhone tomorrow. I'm almost as excited about that as I am about Harry Potter, chapter ten and counting...tell me the ending and die.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist

Blackberry CEO Tries to Drive a Wedge Between Apple and Mobile Operators

jeff — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:41:33 -0700

From the Toronto Star via Engadget Mobile:

[RIM Co-CEO Balsillie] is also intensely critical of what appears to be an effort by Apple to wrest control of the customer experience in the consumer market. For example, the iPhone is being sold through Apple's own stores, instead of strictly through AT&T Inc., which signed an exclusive U.S. deal with the computer maker. The phone is free of AT&T's logo and software and is tied closely to Apple's iTunes music store, which is where subscribers will need to go to activate their phones and browse rate plans.

"It's a dangerous strategy," says Balsillie. "It's a tremendous amount of control. And the more control of the platform that goes out of the carrier, the more they shift into a commodity pipe."

This post could alternately be titled "Blackberry CEO Whispers Sweet Nothings in Operators Ears".

This is really about trying to drive a wedge between Apple and its current and potential mobile network partners. Of all the big mobile device manufacturers, RIM has the least to gain if the industry moves to a more open mobile market with weakened operators, and enjoys a very comfortable position in the current operator-dominated environment. Unlike most mobile device manufacturers, RIM derives a large chunk of their revenue from service subscriptions. They sell into the least price-sensitive segment of the mobile market - business and government users. They have gotten their current market position by providing internet services on networks with poor data capabilities.

But all of this is changing. RIM's centralized email relay infrastructure is becoming dated and their services like push email and calendaring are in danger of becoming commoditized by copycat devices and internet cloud services.

I love my Blackberry Pearl and it's a great device. But I expect I'll be even happier as an iPhone user when it arrives in Canada...

Jeff

iPhone blows my mind

chris — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:42:27 -0800

Yesterday I wrote about my Nokia E61 and how much I like it. Well, Steve Jobs had to go and use my phone as a bad example (E62 actually, same phone w/out wifi and 3G) in his iPhone demo at Macworld 2007 this morning, check out the Engadget blog about it. Thanks Steve, now me and my E61 have a massive inferiority complex, rightly so mind you. I need an iPhone, it looks freaking cool. Cheers Apple, now to get EQO Mobile on one of those babies...